The Best Colleges for Pre-Meds
“The truth is that there’s not one right kind of college for a pre-med, in the same way that there’s not one right kind of doctor. Large universities, small liberal arts colleges, Ivy League schools, and everything in between: they all have their advantages and downsides. Ultimately, you can get a quality pre-med experience at any college, as long as you have the right mindset and approach to learning.”
The career path to becoming a doctor takes a long time to travel – it requires dedication, hard work, and a significant investment of your personal resources. If you are interested in following that path, you will need to achieve solid grades throughout secondary school and take on the advanced academic rigor of Calculus, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics while in high school. In addition to that, you’ll need to ensure you are well-rounded, with classes in English, arts, a foreign language, and some history. You’ll also need to prepare well for the standardized testing some of your colleges will require.
With all that in place, understand that there are some general factors to think through as you start looking at colleges. First, pre-med is not a major – it is a specific path of academic advisement, a program that many colleges provide to students seeking entrance into a top medical school. The majority of premed students enroll in a science field, typically Biology, but often the most successful students complete a humanities major. Medical schools are looking for well-rounded applicants - students who will develop the all-important interpersonal and social skills required in modern-day medicine; they find that liberal arts graduates reveal that strong potential. Interestingly, students who apply from a humanities major have a higher rate of medical school acceptance than those with a physical science major. Mount Sinai’s School of Medicine in New York City is actively recruiting students from the humanities where the dean shares an insightful quote: “Science is the foundation of an excellent medical education, but a well-rounded humanist is best suited to make the most of that education.” So, think carefully about your choice of major because it really does matter for a pre-med student.
As you start building your list of colleges, your first task is to carefully analyze exactly which direction you want to take for your undergraduate major – sciences or humanities. The goal is to go with your passion; choose a major in which you can and will shine and achieve top marks. Review undergraduate coursework required for a successful application to medical school. Harvard produces a helpful Applying to Med School document for undergraduates. Another excellent resource is the Association of American Medical Colleges. Does your prospective college offer these courses and is it possible to do cross-college coursework? Even humanities majors will have a lot of math and science requirements to become competitive medical school applicants.
Once you have chosen your major, check that your college also has a strong premedical advisement program for students in all majors. Visit your prospective colleges and try to arrange a meeting with a premedical advisor (Zoom meeting if in-person is not possible) who should be able to answer your questions. One of your first should be about their success rate in placing students in medical school. A high percentage speaks well of a program; stay away from those with a low number. Secondly, carefully target and analyze undergraduate programs at colleges with a teaching hospital attached or nearby. This can become essential to your medical school application as hands-on experiences are highly sought-after, and the ability to gain a variety of experiences in a medical setting is much easier if the hospital is next door. It is also important to ask about opportunities for one-on-one mentorship with a practicing physician. Ask the premed advisor if they offer support in locating volunteer options within the medical field such as a women’s shelter or a local health center, in addition to research opportunities with medical school faculty.
“The best pre-med schools offer guidance counseling resources, premed organizations, and clubs, research opportunities, and shadowing programs. All these resources help students from the top pre-med schools get into medical school at a significantly higher rate than the 39.3 percent national average.”
A very important part of the application to medical school is the required recommendations. Understanding just what is required will guide you in all the extracurricular activities above. Asking the premed advisor about this should be central to your conversations. Success on the MCAT (Medical College Admissions Test) is also essential, so ask the premed advisor how their college helps students prepare for the MCAT. Finally, ask about the medical school interview. You’ll certainly need to practice for this so understand what each college is looking for in an applicant.
In summary, first, know your major, then familiarize yourself with medical school application requirements and seek a college that will successfully help you connect the two. You’ll need lots of support and guidance along the way and you need a college with a proven track record for placing students in top medical schools. Lists of great premed programs can be found here: